Walking as quickly as they could while attached by chain, they stepped out onto a thin iron walkway that arched between all the towers. The ground grew farther and farther away as they followed the twisty path out into the open air between the great black towers, humming like hives in the unflinching winter sun. They climbed in silence. Several Clubs gave them strange looks as they passed. Wardley dripped with a nervous sweat.
Being outside of the towers gave Dinah a chance to truly look at them. The black bark was shiny on the surface; it glimmered in the sunlight. Tiny striations marked each strip as it ascended into the sky, and the outline of thickly tangled roots was barely visible. I can see why the Yurkei would worship these, she thought. They are indeed “a colossal and terrible wonder.” She also had a fantastic view of Wonderland Castle from the walkway and paused to look for her apartments.
“We’re almost there,” breathed Wardley, jerking her back to reality. “We find Faina Baker, get our answers, and then we LEAVE. I’m starting to feel bad about this.”
Dinah attempted a smile. “You always felt bad about this.”
“Don’t smile” he snapped. “I’m not going to end up in here because you can’t keep a smile off your silly face.”
They made their way through the twisted iron until they arrived at the Seventh Tower. They both stopped outside the door: a wide hole in the roots that someone had fitted with steel.
“Take your last breath of clean air,” Dinah whispered.
They inhaled deeply and Wardley pushed the door open. The Seventh Tower did not smell as strong as the Murderers’ Tower, and Dinah was grateful for that. However, there was a completely different feel in this dark spiral—it felt sinister, as if they had stepped into the very depths of evil. The other tower had been filled with screams and blood, whereas this one was completely silent. There was malice in the air, a hopelessness that permeated each breath. They had entered the tower closer to the bottom this time, and once their eyes adjusted to the light, Dinah quickly became aware of a hulking shadow standing behind them. She shrunk behind Wardley as the shadow stepped forward.
“What business have you in the Treason Tower?” he asked, without a hint of humor or pleasantry. Dinah suddenly missed Yoous.
Wardley yanked Dinah forward. “We were sent here by Yoous at the Murderers’ Tower. We have business with the traitor Faina Baker. My prisoner is here to extract information from her.”
The Card stepped into the light. His gray-and-white Club uniform was pristine and clean, a far cry from Yoous’s blackened hands and clothing. This guard wore the pointed helmet of the Clubs, its black points hovering like spikes above his cheeks. There was a monstrous sword strapped to his back. Wardley, lean and muscular, suddenly looked like a scrawny child in his massive shadow.
The Club gave a nod. “You are not the first person to try and extract information from Ms. Baker. There was another one here earlier this week, slimy fellow.”
Wardley cleared his throat. “Yes. That was cleared through Erinsten previously.”
The man gave a grunt and began walking toward the middle of the spiral. He spun around. “You coming? I don’t have all day to ferry around traitors and amateur Cards who don’t know their manners.”
Wardley and Dinah followed silently. Suspended from the middle of the top spire was a platform, made of the same twisted iron as the Iron Web. There was no enclosure on any of the sides so it was completely flat, aside from some gears and a lever sticking out from the middle. Wardley held fast to Dinah’s chains as they jumped onto the platform. It swung in the open air and Dinah clutched Wardley’s shoulder to avoid pitching off into the void.
“You seem close to that prisoner,” remarked the guard. “Are you taking your pleasure on the side? Nothing wrong with that. There are a few gals in the Thieving Tower I visit weekly. At first they protested, but now they enjoy it. Takes their minds off the torture, not that it’s so bad in that tower. Just a finger or toe now and then. But they don’t need fingers or toes to spread their legs, do they?”
Dinah could see anger flood Wardley’s face. He distracted himself by peering down to the tower floor. It was bare. “Do you not torture here?”